Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-08-27
CHAPTER AXXV.
THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER.

CHAPTER AXXV.
THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER.
When the rain ceased and the moon began |
to shine, jess was still fleeing like wild |
thing across the plain on tue top of the noun |
tain. She felt no sense of exhaustion nov or |
even of WEAKNESS; her only idea was TO get |
away, right away somewhere, where she |
could lose herself and nobody would ever see
her again Presently she came to the top of |
Leuw Kloof, and in hewidered way recog |
nized the spot and commenced to descend it. |
Here was place where she might lie until
she died, for no one ever came there, except
now and again some wandering katlir herd.
On she sprang, from rock to rock, u wild.
weird figure, well in keeping with the solemn
and titanic sadness of the place
Twice she fell, once right into the stream,
but she took no heed, she did not
even seem to feel it. At last she was
at the bottom, now creeping like a black
dot across the wide spaces of moonlight and
now swallowed up in The shadow. There
before her was the mouth of her little cave
her strength was leaving her at last, and she
was fain to creep into it, broken hearted,
crazed, and-dying.
"Oh, God forgive mel God forgive me-"
she moaned, as she sank upon the rocky
floor Bessie, | Snned against you, but
have washed away my sin. did it for you,
Bessie, love, not for myself | had rather
have died than kill him for myself You will
marry John now, and you will never, never
know what did for you am going to die
| know that | am dying. Oh, if | only
could see his face once more before | die-be-
fore del"
Slowly the westering moonlight crept down
the blackness of the rock. Now at last it
peeped into the little cave and played upon
Johns sleeping face lying within two feet of
her Her prayer had been granted; there
was her lover by her side.
With start and great sigh of doubt she
saw him Was he dead' She dragged her
self to him on her hands and knees and list
eued for his breathing, if perchance he still
breathed and was not vision, Then it came,
strong and slow, the breath of d man in deep
sleep.
Should she try to wake him What for
To tell him she was a murderess and then 10
let him see her die. for instinct told her that
nature was exhausted; and she knew that she
was certainly going-going fast. No, hun
bred times, no.
Only she put her hand into her breast and
drew out the pass, on the back of which she
had written to him, and thrust it between his
listless fingers. Itshould speak for her. Then
she leaned over him and watched his sleeping
face a very incarnation of infinite, despairIng
tenderness and love shat is deeper than tbs
grave. And as she watched gradually her
feet and legs grew cold and numb, till at
length she could feel nothing below her
bosom. She was dead nearly to the heart.
The rays of the moon faded slowly from the
level of the little cave, and Johns face grew
| dark to her darkening sight. She bent down
| and kissed him once, twice, thrice.
Then at last the end came. There was a
| great flashing of light before her eyes, aud tha
| roaring as of thousand seas within her ears
and her head sank gently on her lovers breast
us on pillow; and there she died and passed
] upward toward the wider life and larger
| liberty, or perchance downward INTO thu
| depths of an eternal sleep.
Poor dark eyed, deep hearted Jess This
was the fruition of her love and this her
bridal bed
1t was done She had gone. taking with
| UeI IUb SttItt vi Sbll SutIllitt anu
| and the night winds moaning amid the rocks
sang their requiem over her Here she first
bad learned her love, and here she closed Its
book
She might have been a great aud good
| woman. She might even have been i happy
woman But fate had ordained it otherwise
| Women such as she are rarely happy In the
world. 1t is not well to stake all nuc's for
| tune on a throw and lack the craft 10 load the
dice Well, her troubles are done with
"Think gently of her" and let her pass il
peace
| The hours grew on toward the morning
hut John. the dead face OF tine woman he hat
loved still pillowed on his breast, neither
| dreamed nor woke. There was strange an(
dreadful irony in the situation, and one which
sometimes finds counterpart in our wakin:
life, but still the man slept and the deaC
woman lay till the night turned into TIN
morning and the world woke up as usual
The sunbeams slid into the cave and playe'
inditferentIy upon the ashen face and tangled
curls and on the broad chest of the Twin!
man wherein they rested. An old babool
peeped round the rocky edge and manfeste'
no surprise, only Indignation, at the intrusion
of humanity, dead or alive, into his domIn
ions. Yes, the world woke up as usual, am
! rocked not and troubled not because jess wa
dead.
II 1t was so accustomed TO such sights.
And at last John woke up, too. Fl
/ stretched his arms and yawned, and then TO
the first time became aware of the weigh
| upon his breast. He glanced down and SAL
t dimly at first-then more clearly.
Il There are some things into which 1t
2 wisest not to pry, and one of them is the frs
agony of a strong mans grief.
Happy was it for him that his brain di
, not give way in that first lonely hour of bo
, Uomless despair But he lived through it, a
We do live through such things, and was SAN
. and sound after it, though it left its mar
upon his life.
| Two hours later gaunt, baggard figur
| came stumbling down the hillside toward I'll
8 site of Mooifontein, bearing something in h
t arms The whole place was in commotiol
Q Here and there were knots of Beers talkin
D excitedly, who, when they saw the man con
I ing hurried up to see who it was and what
7 carried But when they knew they fell bac
s awed and without word, and he, to-
9 passed through them without word. For
d moment he hesitated, realizing that the hou
S was burned down, and then turned into Il
@ wagon shed and laid his burden down upon Il
Q saw bench on which Frank Muller had sat
i judge upon the previous day.
e Then at last he spoke in a hoarse voic
t "Where is the old MANI" One of them points
g to tie door of the little room.
z "Open itT he said, so fercely that the
Il again fell back and obeyed him without
: word
o "Johnl Johnl" cried Silas Croft. "ThaI
k God you have come back to us from d
>, deadi" and, trembling with joy and surpris
|. he would have fallen upon his neck.